On the 6th Day of Christmas...

Hi, I’m Bridget! I’m from the same story as Colm O’Reilly.
I am here to share a more New Years-y themed post!
Now, in Scotland, (Where I’m from. A Scottish Lass is what I am!) Christmas isn’t actually an official holiday. It’s currently the mid 1950’s.
It was actually banned in the 1600’s. It’s been 300 years since yule celebrations were made illegal.
But now that I’m living in Ireland, we are free to have all the Christmas we want!

Enough about that now, I’m here to talk about Hogmanay. (Or, New Years Eve.)
We have delicious traditions to celebrate.
One of my favorite traditions, besides the annual steak-pie dinner, is the tradition of First Footing!

Tradition goes that after the stroke of midnight, friends, family, and neighbors go around visiting each other bearing gifts! (Usually of the food and drink variety.)
The first person to cross the threshold of a friend or neighbor’s house is considered to bring good luck to that house.
But, there is a catch. It is preferred that the first-footer is a tall, dark haired fellow.
It is a jolly tradition that goes into the wee hours of the New Year.
Sometimes even longer! First Footing has been known to last for days!

But probably my favorite thing is when we sing “Auld Lang Syne”.
Now, amongst many things, I love poetry; and Robert Burns has always been a favorite poet of mine. It is one of his most poplar works.
It’s a beautiful poem, set to an equally beautiful tune.
It is commonly sung on New Years Eve to usher in the New Year.
Which we do every year!
And now, I would like to share the whole poem with you.

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you'll buy your pint cup!
and surely I'll buy mine!
And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine;
But we've wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared,
since auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And there's a hand my trusty friend!
And give me a hand o' thine!
And we'll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne!

A few of the words were changed for ease of reading, but there you have it!
I hope you all have a wonderful New Years Eve! I’m off to celebrate with my family now.
Bye!

Thanks Bridget!
I hope all you readers had a great 2018. May your 2019 be filled with God’s blessings, and may His joy fill your hearts and homes this coming year!
Until tomorrow,

God bless!

Megan

poem written by Robert Burns, courtesy of Wikipedia.

On the 5th Day of Christmas...

Hello there, Aaron Rochester here.
Seems it's my turn to do a post, so here's what I've come up with. Hope you enjoy!

I looked at my twin, and grinned. “Ready?”
She nodded, and cracked her knuckles. “Oh yes.”
We both took a deep breath and started singing. Ivy took the melody, I chimed in with the harmony.
“We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!”
A blond head poked out the previously closed door. “What the heck are you two doing?”
We stopped singing as soon as the door opened.
I shrugged. “Why, caroling of course!”
He pushed his glasses up his nose, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Since when do carolers go around inside their own house?”
Ivy clasped her hands behind her back innocently. “Since now. Come on, Caleb. Join us?”
Our twenty-three year old brother shook his head. “I’m busy.”
I crossed my arms. “Sorry, can’t back out. We’re all going caroling in town.”
Caleb narrowed his eyes at us. “Why wasn’t I informed of this trip?”
I grinned at my sister. “We just decided a few minutes ago. Mom and Dad agreed that it would be fun. You wanna come?”
Our tall brother sighed. “Ah, why not...”
He straightened. “Are we supposed to dress up?”
Ivy nodded the same time I shook my head. When she saw my answer, she nodded again. “Of course! Get a vest and coat, and your nicest hat too. It’s common knowledge that all carolers have to look like they’re from the 1800’s!”
Right then, Dad walked up behind us. “What’s this? Who’s from the 1800’s?”
Ivy looked at him and grinned. “We are! Don’t you agree that we should dress up to go caroling?”
He feigned shock at the idea of not dressing up for the occasion. “Why, of course!” Caleb groaned. “Not only are you making me sing, now I have to dress up too?”
I scoffed. “Ha! You’re the one in the house who always dresses up the most when going places, and don’t deny it, brother.”
Caleb shrugged; a grin spreading across his face. “Ah, tis true, little brother. Unlike someone—” he poked my chest. “—I care about what I look like in public.”

An hour and a half later found us in the middle of the old section of our little town, wandering through the town square singing Christmas carols and hymns that pertained to our Savior’s birth.
Dad played his squeezebox in accompaniment while we all sang.
“God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay...”
I normally didn’t care to sing in front of people, but if I had someone to sing with, it certainly made it easier. And my family was the best group to sing with, in my opinion.
Once we had our fill of singing in the cold snowy weather, we all shuffled into the local coffee shop and jumped into line to order something to warm up our frozen insides.
We decided to go easy on the baristas, and all ordered hot chocolates.
Dad took a sip of his beverage once we gathered around a circular table.
“Ow!”
We all chuckled and giggled at the expression on his face.
“Daaad,” Ivy giggled, cradling her paper cup. “It’s hot!”
He puckered his lips and stuck his burnt tongue out. “Ya could have warned me.” Caleb smirked. “The name wasn’t a dead giveaway?”
Mom carefully sipped her own. “It’s hot cocoa for a reason, dear.”
Dad grinned and took another sip. “I knew that. I was only joking.”
I reached for the basket on the table that held complimentary candy canes, and stuck one in my mouth. After a couple minutes, I pulled the cane from my mouth; revealing a sharp pointed end.
“My favorite Christmas treat is the peppermint candy sword.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “They’re called candy canes, not—”
I waved it around in front of me. “Now once you’ve sucked on it a while!”
Dad laughed. “Who knew such a delicious treat could be so lethal...”
Caleb set his cup down, and drummed his fingers on the tabletop. “Certainly wouldn’t be a choice weapon. The strength of the peppermint would be easily detected.”
I scowled. “Brilliant deduction, Caleb. Way to ruin a good plan.”
My big brother flashed a grin. “Just keeping you from being dragged off to jail, dear brother.”
I popped the top off my beverage, and stuck my peppermint stick in.
“Well, I don’t plan on bumping anyone off right now anyhow. But thanks for the warning. I’m much obliged.”
After we had fallen silent for a couple minutes, Dad lifted his cup.
“I’d like to propose a toast.”
We all turned our attention to him, and raised our own drinks.
He cleared his throat. “To Christmas, family, and hot cocoa. God bless us!”
We all echoed his toast, and took a drink.
I grinned, and raised the cup to my lips again.
“God bless us, everyone!”

Thanks for the snippet, Aaron!
Have a lovely Sunday, everyone. I'm off to prepare for church!

God bless!

Megan

On the 4th Day of Christmas...

Greetings! Tis I, Joshua Peterson.
Merry (four days after) Christmas, everyone!
Well, I was going to write about my latest Christmas, but...Amy kind of beat me to that...so...
How about I just share my favorite Christmas drinks and foods with you?
Since my dream is to own my own pizza joint when I finish culinary collage, I have a handful of great recipies to share!
(Don't worry. They're not pizzas. Though...A turkey sandwich pizza sounds really cool right now...)

Drinks
A very important part of any day is drinks, am I right?
So two of my favorite things are Hot Cocoa, and Eggnog.

Hot Cocoa:
2 Tablespoons Cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons Sugar
And enough Milk to fill your favorite mug. (as long as it's not one of those ginormous cups...Then you'll have to add more cocoa and sugar...)
A half teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Mix those, and heat them up on the stove. Once it's hot, but not boiling, pour it back into your mug and add two big Marshmallows, and a Candy Cane.
Viola! Vuwalla!...V....phooey.
And there you have it! A delicious Hot Chocolate!

Eggnog:
6 Eggs
A Half Gallon of Milk
3/4 to 1 cup Sugar (depends on how sweet you like it. I suggest starting with 3/4 and working your way up.)
A teaspoon Nutmeg
And a half teaspoon Vanilla
Blend the eggs and sugar in a blender until totally mixed together, then add flavors, mix until completely blended, then add milk. Blend again. You can't overdo it. Always overblend than underblend your eggnog. Trust me on this one...
Once done, pour into a tall glass and add a tiny sprinkle of Nutmeg on top for decoration.
Enjoy!

Not Drinks:
Very important, this.
And by not drinks, I mean food.
Now these aren't my very own recipies, but I recommend them:

Peppermint Cookies:
https://preppykitchen.com/white-chocolate-peppermint-cookies/#

Chocolate Fudge:
https://foodieandwine.com/3-ingredient-easy-fudge-recipe/

You may not have known, but my father's side all comes from the Scandinavian countries, so we have quite a bit of Scandinavian influences on our Christmas meals!
The above recipies aren't Scandinavian...That I know of...
But here are a couple delicious things we enjoy during the Christmas season:

Spiced Cake:
https://www.redonline.co.uk/food/recipes/a501507/spiced-christmas-cake/

A Yummy Roast:
https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/roast-pork-with-crisp-crackling-red-currant-gravy

Mom isn't too into fish, so we don't have many of the fishy things that Scandinavians usually eat during most of their meals.

There! Now that I'm totally hungry from talking about all this food...
I think I'll go grab myself some fudge I think is still leftover in the fridge.
Hasta la Pasta!

Great recipies Josh, thanks for sharing.
Hope you enjoyed this post, and maybe will try out some of these tasty recipies!
(I highly recommend the fudge!)

Until tomorrow,

God bless!

Megan